BOISE, Idaho — A 22-year-old man clubbed a monkey to death with a tree branch, after he was bitten by the animal while trying to steal it from a Boise zoo, prosecutors charge.

Michael J. Watkins entered Zoo Boise on Saturday morning, manipulated a lock to get into the primate enclosure, and removed the patas monkey by wrapping it in his jacket, Ada County deputy prosecutor Fafa Alidjani said after Watkins was arraigned.